House Vela
House Vela House Vela is one of The Houses Major. House Vela's primary star system is Perithr in Hex 0606. Its home planet is Haqani, with a lot of major infrastructure like the Great Library being found on the moon of Pharos. Cultural Background House Vela is primarily rooted in Middle Eastern, North African, and Indian / Pakistani traditions. The predominant languages spoken are Arabic, Farsi, Turkish, Hindi, and Urdu. Get some first impressions of the Velan Society here. Important cultural artifacts * The Great Library Server of Eskendria * The College of Navigation * Lighthouse Integrated Navigation & Exploration System (LINES) * The Network of Obelisks distributing LINES * A Memorial to the crews lost while re-charting the sector after the Scream Role in the Empire House Vela's responsibilities within The Empire are twofold: Keepers of History The Great Library Sever of Eskendria is the biggest library and server in the known universe. Some say the records of House Vela go back to the time where humans first discovered the Acheron Rho sector. There are rumors that Velan record keeping dates back to times before humans ventured from Earth. But no-one has been able to verify this so far. Keepers of Star Charts & Teachers of Navigation House Vela has the monopoly on creating, storing, and updating star chart. The Lighthouse Integrated Navigation & Exploration System (LINES) is used by every ship in the sector. LINES is updated by Velan Khutat on a daily basis. Updates to LINES can be acquired either as package deal or through a subscription service. Hiring a Navigator of House Vela usually comes with a free update to LINES. Updates to LINES are distributed via the Sector wide Network of Obelisks. Velan universities are the only ones allowed to train people in navigation. Imperial law requires a House Vela or Vela-trained navigator aboard every star ship operating in sector Acheron Rho. Vela Navigators Vela Navigators are easily recognizable by their bright Velan Blue uniform with face veil. They are praised as the most talented navigators in the system and are sworn to absolute neutrality while serving on a ship. Seeing the face of an on-duty Vela Navigator is considered bad luck. Attacking a Vela Navigator is a major criminal offence. All Vela nobles have served at least four years as Navigators on a ship. Not serving as Navigator leads to getting stripped of your noble title. This rule excludes the Royal Family, but many Royals make it a point of honor to get trained as navigators and serve their four years. They are usually stationed on Royal ships though. Immersion and the Zen of Navigation According to House Vela, the ability to interpret and use the Star Charts is learned and only available in the mind of a Navigator. While candidates from outside of House Vela learn this on a solely scientific basis, House Vela Navigators take a different approach to navigating ships. They focus their mind through ancient meditation practices when they don their veil. Commonly this is known as Navigator Trance or Immersion. Because of this many more traditional Velans call their House Navigators "Immersers." Technically Vela Navigators aren't doing anything different than any other navigator. Their spiritual preparation and almost religious dedication to the craft make it seem different in the eyes of the public though. Synth Navigators There are rumours that some projects and collaborations with House Cygnus were approved to teach highly developed Synths in navigation. House Vela denies this vehemently. House Government & Political System House Vela mainly understands itself as a democratic meritocracy, but officially the House is a constitutional monarchy with a member of the Royal Family as Head of State. Outside of the Royal Family every single titled member of the House has served as a navigator on a ship to prove their dedication and loyalty to House Vela. The Velan parliament is called the Grand Forum and is located underneath the original landing site on Haqani. Every titled member of House Vela, regardless of age or accomplishments, has a seat and voice in the Grand Forum. Every four years the Grand Forum elects House Vela's leadership, the Raja and Rani, a diarchy. The Raja is responsible for defense and internal affairs, while the Rani looks after diplomacy and external affairs. Velan Society The Royal Family The Royal Family of House Vela can trace their line back to the Age of Colonization and the first human settlement on Imperial Prime. They were always a voice of reason and moderation in the sector, promoting cool reasoning, technological advancement, and peaceful cooperation. Several members of the Royal Family scarified their lives in the efforts to recreate the map of the sector during The Rebuilding. The challenges during these dark times have forged strong bonds with House Fornax, bonds that led to several Royal marriages with Fornax spouses. The Royal Šāh The Royal Šāh is the Head of the Royal Family and highest member of House Vela. The Royal Šāh also acts as a non-party political Head of State. While The Royal Šāh holds formal authority and the government legally operates in the monarch's name, in modern times The Royal Šāh no longer personally sets public policy or chooses political leaders. Instead they entrust the day-to-day politics to the elected officials, Raja and Rani. All this changes when House Vela takes up the mantle of Emperox. The Royal Šāh becomes Emperox and their rule over the sector is absolute. Members of the Royal Family dedicate their lives to the study of imperial history, government, and politics so that House Vela always maintains a worthy Šāh candidate for the Imperial Throne. The reign of the Emperox The Shining Star set a precedent more in line with modern Velan political structures though, as the Velan Emperox appointed both Rani and Raja as their personal advisers. The Four Branches All titled members of House Vela are part of one of four branches of Velan Society. Most of the titles associated with the branches were gendered once, but House Vela no longer uses them this way. Velans choose which version of a title they wish to use and no roles are restricted by gender. Those Who Lead Raja: A role that oversees the internal affairs of house Vela. They are represented as the Heart. There is only one Raja at any given time. Rani: A role that oversees the external affairs of house Vela. They are represented as the Hand. There is only one Rani at any given time. Emir / Emira / Emirox (alt. spelling: Ameer / Ameerah / Ameerox): These titles represent the politicians of the Velan forum. They are either elected officials or born nobility (most of the time: both). Emir usually are more closely related to internal affairs and the functions of the Raja, while Ameerah tend to work closely with the Rani on foreign policy. Rasul: Each Rasul works as direct correspondent to at least one of the other houses or factions. Their role as a liaison between the ruling parties. They report directly to the Rani with any request for audience or offers of treaties. Those Who Know Teaching navigation is mainly a 1:1 mentorship and less like a traditional university course. The time to teach a navigator can vary wildly depending on the aptitude of the candidate and the quality of their relationship with the teacher. But the time frame to go from an apprentice to a full navigator is between 4-12 years. Khutat: Responsible for validating, curating and updating information stored in the Great Library including the Star Charts. Responsible for maintaining the servers of the Great Library. Ustadh: Teachers of Navigation. They are directly responsible for the rigorous vetting process, teaching Talibs and approving their graduation. Eamid: Administrators and leaders of the Great Library and teaching institutions. In charge of all Academic personnel including Fakri, Ustadh, and Khutats, their funding and the Curriculum. Fakri: Lead research projects in order to discover new knowledge and add it to the Library. Sometimes they are less reliably contactable, no-one knows why. Those Who Navigate Talib: The Talib are Navigators in training, studying under a Ustadh. Immerser / Navigator: Currently active Navigators. In Velan tradition Navigators tend to call themselves Immersers, it is more preference based amongst Velans to be called Immerser or Navigator. Immerser is the more traditional, Navigator the more colloquially used title. However, Navigators who are not Velan are always referred to simply as Navigators. Sheikh / Sheikha / Sheikhx: Sheikhs are distinguished members of any branch with minimum 40 years service to the House total. They are the spiritual guides of the House. They can be found around the system, they collect and distribute information to passing Velans. Those Who Protect The military force of the House. Mainly visible as they accompany Navigators (depending on the safety of the customer and route) and guard House Vela’s Great Library and College of Navigation. Cavus: The Cavus serve as bodyguards for the Navigators. There are usually 1-2 Cavus per Navigator. Shamshir (= sword): The Shamshir are the elite House troops that answer only to the Raja. They are masters of stealth and hit and run tactics. They protect the Great Library and House Vela's various Sanctums. Musir '''(= Field Marshal): Musir are the Black Ops and Police Force of House Vela. They lead special investigations and often serve as a FBI or Homeland Security in many cases. '''Immortals: The Immortals are ace fighter / mech pilots. They are charged with protecting Haqani and Pharos as a last line of dedence. The Immortals gain their name from the mechs they operate, and their long history. These mechs are outfitted with tech developed through researching the alien ruins on Haqani, enabling them to withstand its highly corrosive atmosphere. Throughout the entire history of House Vela it is said not one mech has been destroyed in battle. There is a set number of Immortals at all times and a new Immortal must gain their place by replacing a retiring / fallen Immortal. Oramiral: The Oramirals function as fleet leaders and admirals. They are House Vela's chief tacticians and starship / fleet captains. Velan Culture Fashion Velans usually wear long, flowing garments in bright colors, although many Nobles of House Vela tend to wear blue. Velan culture doesn't have any gender restrictions when it comes to fashion, everyone can wear whatever they want. All Nobles of House Vela wear a face veil to indicate that they are trained Vela Navigators, although some have it only attached to one side of their face. Many non-noble citizens imitate this in their fashion choices and face veils can be seen worn by all classes on Haqani and Pharos. Fabrics are often heavily decorated with prints, appliqués, or embroidery. Accessories like turbans, shawls, stoles, canes are also very popular, as well as filigrane jewelry. (Expand gallery to the right) VelanFashion1.jpg VelanFashion2.jpg VelanFashion3.jpg VelanFashion4.jpg VelanFashion5.jpg VelanFashion6.jpg VelanFashion7.jpg VelanFashion8.jpg VelanFashion9.jpg VelanFashion10.jpg VelanFashion11.jpg VelanFashion12.jpg Proverbs, Sayings, and Greetings Velan proverbs, sayings, and greetings revolve heavily around naval traditions and navigation, as well as the preservation and gathering of knowledge. Haqani's corrosive atmosphere and immiscible biosphere has also influenced Velan sayings, as being outside has become synonymous with a hostile environment. Find a selection of the most common Velan proverbs, sayings, and greetings here. Burial Rites It is customary for Velan nobles to be shot into the star of the nearest solar system, although many of the more prominent families are bringing their dead home to Haqani or Pharos for funeral ceremonies, culminating in shooting the deceased into Perithr. This way the Vela noble sails for one last time "On Sails of Light." The funeral often includes a religious ceremony performed by a Lyran Neshmet and a priest of The High Church of Messiah-as-Emperor. This burial tradition goes back to the Age of Rebuilding after the Scream when many Velan ships set out to rediscover the worlds of the sector to recreate the star charts. Velan sacrifices were high and burials held wherever the ship was at the moment as it wasn't guaranteed that the crew would return to the Perithr system. An important part of House Vela's burial traditions is remembrance. Each Velan becomes part of the living memory of the House in form of the Great Library Server. Memorial celebrations and the "speaking of the name" also play a big part in this. Rumors There are rumors abound regarding a mysterious font of knowledge maintained by House Vela, commonly referred to as the Secret Library among the more "romantic" spacer circles throughout the Sector. The exact nature of such a facility or entity is unknown and all rumors are unconfirmed. Category:Factions Category:Houses Major Category:Noble Houses Category:House Vela